Immediately, she covered her ears. It was just the reaction I expected.
“Everly, do you understand what you’re doing?”
“Of course.” I gave her the ‘duh’ look. “I get to have sex whenever I want with an incredibly sexy man. You should be happy it’s with him and not some random guy I pick up in a bar. Aren’t you happy knowing that I’ll be safe with him?”
She rolled her eyes and let out a sigh. “Yes and no. He’s Asher Remington. He has a bad reputation with women.”
“So. It’s not like I’m marrying the guy. We’re only satisfying each other’s needs. Nothing else.”
“Who are you trying to convince, Everly? Me or you? I love you and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“I appreciate that, Diana, and I love you too. I won’t let myself get hurt. Besides, I’m leaving in a couple of months. I can’t stay here.” I gave her a small smile as I patted her arm and went to my bedroom. My phone that was sitting on the bed rang and when I grabbed it, I saw Asher was calling.
“Hello.”
“Everly, it’s Asher. Listen, are you busy right now?”
“No. Why?”
“I thought maybe we could grab some dinner and hang out for a while.”
A smile crossed my lips.
“I’d love too, but a bad storm is on the way.”
“What are you talking about? The sun is shining brighter than it ever does. Hold on a second. I just checked my weather app and there is not a rain drop or storm in sight. I just got home, and I need to change so I’ll have Damien pick you up, swing back by and get me, and then we’ll head to my suite. Sound good?”
“Sounds good. I’ll be ready.”
“Were you talking to someone?” Diana asked as she stepped into my room.
“Yeah. Asher just called.”
“Phew.” She placed her hand on her chest. “I thought maybe you were talking to—you know.”
“No. We’re having dinner. He’s sending his driver over right now to get me.”
“Again?”
“I’m a little surprised myself. But who am I to say no to a tantalizing night?” I grinned as I grabbed my purse.
I slipped on my sandals and headed for the door.
“By the way, a bad storm is coming so make sure you have the candles ready in case you lose power.”
“Really? I haven’t heard anything about a storm,” she spoke.
I cocked my head at her.
“Right. I’ll go get them now. Have fun.”
“I intend to.” A sly smile crossed my lips as I walked out the door and headed to the lobby.
19
Everly
As we were on our way to pick up Asher, the clouds rolled in and it became very dark and gray. The winds picked up and suddenly buckets of water fell from the sky.
“What the heck is going on? I didn’t hear anything about a storm,” Damien said as he pulled into the parking garage of the building. Suddenly his phone rang, and he put it on speaker.
“Hello, Asher.”
“Are you here yet? I’m looking out the window and it’s a monsoon out there.”
“I just pulled into the parking garage.”
I heard Asher let out a long sigh.
“Just send Everly up. We won’t be going to the hotel.”
“I’ll send her up now.”
I climbed out of the car and stepped into the elevator with Damien. He pushed the button to the fourth floor and inserted the key to the top floor where Asher’s penthouse was. I glanced over at him in confusion.
“I live on the fourth floor,” he spoke.
“Oh. I didn’t realize you lived in the same building.”
“You’re all set. The elevator will open directly to his penthouse.” He smiled.
“Thanks, Damien. Stay safe.”
“You too, Everly,” he said as he stepped off the elevator.
When the elevator reached Asher’s penthouse, the doors opened, and I stepped out onto the beautiful oak flooring.
“Hi there,” Asher spoke as he stepped from around the corner. “Looks like you were right.”
“Sorry. I wish I wasn’t.”
“Well, we’ll just have to make the best of it here. I don’t really cook so I’m not sure what to do about dinner.”
“Show me to your kitchen and I’ll see what I can whip up for us. That is if you don’t mind me taking over your kitchen.”
“No. Not at all.” He smiled. “Follow me.”
I was in awe of the beauty of his home. Just about every wall was encased with floor to ceiling windows. Oak cabinets, gray marble countertops and state of art appliances filled the kitchen space. The large island made of marble was the focal point of the kitchen as were the gray bar stools that sat around it.
“Can I make you a drink or pour you a glass of wine?” Asher asked.
I opened the refrigerator to see what he had and saw a few bottles of beer sitting on the shelf. Grabbing one, I turned and looked at him.
“I’ll have a beer.” I grinned. “I didn’t take you for a beer guy.”
“I’m really not,” he spoke as he walked over to his bar. “A friend of mine just moved back from Paris and he stayed here a couple of nights.”
“Oh. Why did he move back?”
“He and his girlfriend broke up and he wasn’t happy at his job, so he packed up and moved back to New York. We’ve been good friends since college.”
“Sorry to hear about his relationship, but I’m sure you’re happy he’s back.”
“Yeah. It’s good to have him back.”
I opened the freezer, took out a bag of frozen shrimp and set it on the counter. Opening the refrigerator, I grabbed an onion, green pepper, red pepper and some really sad looking mushrooms.
“Do you have rice?” I asked.
“Let me check. Yep. Right here.” He took out the box of white rice from the cabinet.
“Then we have everything we need for a shrimp stir fry.”
“Sounds good.” The corners of his mouth curved upward.
Taking a knife from the knife block, I handed it to Asher.
“You can start cutting up the veggies while I start the rice. The faster we can get this made, the faster we can eat.” I smiled.
He set the knife down and rolled up the sleeves of his light blue dress shirt.
“Why don’t you bring women here?” I asked as I filled the pot with water.
He glanced over at me. “How did you—forget it.” He let out a sigh. “This is my home and my personal space, and I don’t allow women in it. That’s what my suite is for.”
“Then I’m honored you let me into your palace.”
“Only because you were already here, and we couldn’t leave due to the storm. Don’t get too used to it, because after tonight, you won’t be coming back here,” he said as he continued to cut up the peppers.
My back was turned, and I rolled my eyes. “Be careful, you’re going to —”
“Fuck!” he shouted as he threw down the knife and grabbed a towel. “If you were going to tell me I was going to cut myself, you couldn’t have done it thirty seconds earlier?” he spoke in anger.